On 22 July 2015, IMA and Hassia Packaging India held a press conference in Pune to speak about the Bologna Italy-based IMA Group’s acquisition of the Oystar Group of which Hassia Packaging India was a part. Industria Macchine Automatiche (IMA) is a global market leader in the development and production of packaging machines for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, tea, coffee, dairy and food and beverage industries. To be integrated with IMA’s Dairy & Food Holding, Hassia India will hence forth be known as IMA Dairy & Food Holding Hassia India.
Since it already owned IMA-PG in India, a pharmaceutical packaging equipment company with two plants in Mumbai and one in Indore, the IMA Group will now own four plants in India with a combined employee strength of around 500. After the Oystar acquisition, the IMA Group’s global turnover will exceed one billion Euros annually.
Hassia Packaging’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located at Sanaswadi on the outskirts of Pune has made significant inroads in its fifteen years of existence. It has consistently developed packaging with European technology for Indian requirements by successfully lightweighting machines while providing the flexibility of field upgrades and options for throughput speeds. It has successfully justified its price by value engineering that delivers savings for the customers by cutting down on the give-away of excess product to be packed with extremely precise measuring and weighing. Hassia India has a strong presence in the Indian subcontinent in the food, dairy, agrochemical, washing powder, shampoo, hair oil, nutraceuticals segments with clients such as Unilever, ITC, P&G, Perfetti, Kraft Foods, GSK, Danone and Abbott. It exports 30% of its packaging machines to international markets in Africa, SAARC and Southeast Asia.
K Ravi, managing director, Hassia Packaging India said, “We are happy to be a part of the IMA Group and together with their technological know-how and our understanding of the Indian market. I am confident that the new company IMA Dairy & Food Holding will reinforce Hassia’s India commitment and capabilities to continue delivering world-class products and services.”
Andrea Malagoli, CEO of IMA said, “The product range of Hassia India is ideal for enhancing our product portfolio in the dairy and food industry. These two segments have been growing steadily in India for a few years now, so the local demand for packaging machines keeps rising steadily. Our new setup combines our leading expertise in the business and lets us expand our capacities.” Malagoli added later that IMA would like to see Hassia India double its exports to 60% of production. Malagoli made it clear that IMA is looking at synergy in both directions – transfer of technology from Europe to India for specific packaging applications and looking at producing quality parts and components by Indian vendors for export to Europe. Even synergies between IMA-PG and Hassia India will be explored. “The future of IMA Hassia is very interesting,” he said.
Markus Ehl, CEO of IMA Dairy & Food Holding briefed the press from his perspective, “By bundling our know-how, we secure even more successful growth in the Asian markets and we can promote our business even more intensely in the future.” Over the last few months, for example, the company has sold four wrapping machines manufactured by IMA affiliate Benhil and one P300 FFS machine by Hassia to Indian customers for packaging butter into individual servings. Altogether, the former Oystar Group exported more than 100 packaging machines from Germany to India. It was clear from the press conference and the discussions afterwards, that the IMA Group is actively looking at its Indian acquisition as a hub for developing and manufacturing machines for the emerging markets. There is a healthy respect on both sides for each other’s technical capabilities and a real commitment to the possibilities of even faster growth than Hassia India has enjoyed in the past.
